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DR. HENSHAIV'S SERMON 



\\ 



ON THE 



DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 



/ h^,i 



JOHN MIRPUY, PRINTER, 146 MARKET STREET. 

BBaHB 



FUNERAL SERMON, 



OCCASIONED DV THE DEATH OF 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



LATE 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 



DELIVERED IN 



SAINT PETER'S PROT. EPIS. CHURCH, BALTIMORE, 



cS'imbiit), %mcntt)-fiftif of Jlpril, 1841: 



rREPAUED, AND NOW PUBLISHED, AT THE REQUEST OK THE VESTRY OF SAID 

CHURCH. 



13 V J. P. K. HENSHAW, I) . D 



BALTIMORE: 

PUBLISHED BY D. BRUNNER, 

No. 1, N. Charles street. 

M DCCC X L i. 



JiillN MlKi'lIY. rUlNTEU. 116 MARKET j^TREET. 



■H' 



0^ 



FUNERAL SERMON, &c. 



Psalm cxii. — 6tk verse, latter clause. 

" THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL BE HAD IN EVERLASTING REMEMBKANCE. 



Man is, to a ^reat degree, a creature of anticipation, 
and much of his happiness is derived from this source. 
His contentment and peace arise not so much from 
an experience of his present condition, as from the 
expectaticm of some prospective improvement in it : 
not so much from a consciousness of what he now is, 
as from the thought of something which he hopes to 
be. A large share of human fehcity consists in the 
excitement, and interest, and hope, connected with the 
pursuit of desirable objects : probably a larger one 
than arises from their fruition. 

Accordingly, most men are looking forward ; their 
attention is fixed on something future, and their 
present possessions and enjoyments are almost over- 



DR. HENSHAW's SERMON 



looked or forgotten amicLst their longings for higher 
and greater ones yet to be acquired. For example, 
where is the lover of ivcalth who does not indulge in 
the pleasing anticipation of adding to his riches — and 
would not, — though his present treasures may be 
counted by thousands and tens or hundreds of thous- 
ands — feel disquieted were it not for the hope of further 
accumulation ? Property is valuable in his estimation, 
because he attaches to it the idea of permanency ; and 
one of his fondest anticipations is, that he will con- 
tinue to possess it while he lives, and then bequeath 
it as a valuable legacy to his children. 

Where is the devotee ofpleasure^ who, when drinking 
the cup of worldly joy, is not stimulated by the hope 
of one day taking a deeper and more exhilarating 
draught ? — who, in the midst of the most splendid and 
fascinating amusements, is not taxing his ingenuity 
and racking his invention to devise some means of 
adding a refinement and giving a new zest to the 
luxurious indulgences of time and sense? The con- 
stant inquiry of the gay and fluttering crowd is, "Who 
will show^ us any good" to which we have not had 
access? Where .shall we find some novel scene of 
dissipation — some spectacle of vanity of an unfamiliar 
aspect — .some added ingredient to the cup of carnal 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 5 

And as in the pursuit of worldly pleasure — so in 
the pursuit of earthly honors — man is em\\\Q\\i\j 'pros- 
pective. What he has already tasted only excites a 
keener appetite for what is to come. However high 
the eminence he now occupies, it only serves as a 
vantage ground to give him a view of still loftier 
ones, — to raise his aspirations, and urge liim onw^ard 
in his ascending course w^ith augmented energy. 
The bright distinctions of to-day derive half their 
lustre from those yet more splendid anticipated on 
the morrow. The great power and dignity enjoy- 
ed at the present time, only prompts to the more 
ardent pursuit of greater for the future. Thus men 
live, as it were, by anticipation ; and their present 
condition borrows brightness or gloom from the fore- 
vshadowing of coming events — presented so vividly to 
their imaginations as to have the influence of reality. 

Are the anticipations of man confmed merely to 
the period of his own brief existence upon earth? 
Far from it. '' He is capable of carrying his views — 
of attaching his anxieties to a period much more 
distant, than the measure of his earthly being : capa- 
ble of plunging into the depths of future duration ; 
of identifying himself with the sentiments and opinions 
of a distant age, and of enjoying, by anticipation, the 
fame of which he is aware that he will never be 



DR. HENSHAW'S SERMON 



conscious, and the praises he shall never hear. So 
strongly is he disposed to link his feelings with 
futurity, that shadows become realities when con- 
templated as subsisting there ; and the phantom of 
posthumous celebrity, the faint image of his being, 
impressed on future generations, is often preferred to 
the whole of his present existence, with all its warm 
and vivid realities." 

In some men the love of posthumous fame is so 
strong, that they are content to live in obscurity and 
unknown, that they may have praises after death ; to 
remain unhonored upon earth, that glory may gather 
around their monuments and shed its halo upon their 
graves. Some have spent their whole lives in secrecy 
and retirement, employed in working out some difficult 
problems of science, or in discovering some important 
inventions of art — cheered, amid their solitary toil, 
with the belief that posterity would be benefited by 
their labors, and do justice to their memories. And 
some favored sons of genius have, amidst poverty, 
disease and suffering — burning with an intellectual 
fire so intense as to consume their bodily frame while 
it rendered their minds more ethereal — devoted their 
high powers to the illustration of truth and the 
enforcement of pure morality in the loftiest strains of 
poetic inspiration — who, amidst the cold neglect of 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 7 

their unsympathising contemporaries, were consoled 
by the thougiit that future ages would appreciate 
their merits, and that their immortal works would 
command the admiration of those who were capable 
of being affected by all that is powerful in language, 
sublime in conception, and beautiful in thought. 

There have not been wanting examples of men in 
other pursuits than those of science and literature — 
for example, in the walks of jurisprudence, political 
economy, natural history, patriotism and philanthro- 
py, who have been content to live unknown and die 
unhonored, and have passed their days in obscurity, 
neglect and indigence — supported by the belief that 
the fruit of their labors would survive them, and 
procure for their names a record in the annals of 
their country and the world. 

We are far from condemning this prospective 
tendency of the human mind — this strong and para- 
mount regard to the interest, the happiness, and the 
fame of the future. A regard for posthumous reputa- 
tion is, perhaps, a lawful and innocent ambition. This 
gives an incentive to the intellect of youth, imparts 
vigor to the energies of manhood, and not unfrequently 
sustains and cheers the patience and perseverance of 
old age, in a virtuous and benevolent course. 

The great Legislator of the Jews was, as we are 



8 DR. HENSHAW'S SERMON 

informed, prompted to his acts of self-denial and 
benevolent sacrifice, in behalf of a thankless and 
obdurate generation, by motives drawn from the 
futii7^e. Moses cheerfully relinquished all the luxuries, 
distinctions and fascinations of the Egyptian court, 
and "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's 
daughter," — he preferred the lot of Pharaoh's slaves : 
"choosing rather to suffer allliction with the people 
of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season : 
esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than 
the treasures of Egypt:" why? "/ie Jiad respect unto 
the recompense of the reward.'''' And of a greater than 
Moses, even of our Lord Jesus Christ himself, it is 
said — that For the joy that ivas set before Jiim, he 
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now 
seated at the right hand of God. 

We do not, therefore, reprobate the principle itself 
of regarding the interests or the honors of the future. 
No. We only wish to have it properly directed, and 
sanctified by the spirit of religion. It is not merely 
reputation, but that honorable reputation wiiich 
follows righteousness and virtue, that should be the 
object of human desire. " The memory of the 
just is blessed : but the name of the wicked sJtall 
roty * Some men are " damned to everlasting 
fame." At their tomb, no tears are shed, but those 

* Prov. X. 7. 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 11 

The true value of every thing is to be measured 
upon that scale. -What is man himself to be accounted 
of, except so far as he bears the stamp of immortality 
and is the heir of endless existence? lie is born to 
sorrow — doomed to pass a few fleeting years of toil 
and disappointment upon earth, and then sinks into 
the rottenness and corruption of the grave. What 
are riches, except so far as permanent good may result 
from their being employed in works of utility, and 
consecrated to the service of benevolence and piety? 
" They take to themselves wings and fly away" — they 
soothe no pain — they apply no balm to the wounded 
heart — they profit not in the day when God taketh 
away the soul. What shall we say of the honors and 
pleasures of the world? How fading and worthless! 
how quickly do they vanish and disappear, like the 
roseate tints of the morning cloud, or the gay and 
painted pageant of an hour? Yea, what is this world 
itself^ which occupies so nuich of our thoughts, and 
claims so large a share of our affections? It was but 
as yesterday spoken into being by the omnific word 
of the Creator, and to-morrow it will be swept from 
its orbit, wrapped in its winding sheet of flame, and 
consigned to the tomb of oblivion. Notiiing of it will 
survive, except those agents and actions upon its 
fleeting theatre Avhich were connected with a future 



12 PR, HENSHAW'S SERMON 

world and the high destinies of eternity. All else 
will be as though they had never been; not enough 
will be left of that which was merely temporal, to 
inscribe its epitaph upon. 

God, in his providence and grace, is constantly 
reading to us lessons upon the transitory nature of all 
earthly things, and the absolute emptiness and vanity 
of every thing which is not connected with the unseen 
world, and linked in with immortality. But alas ! they 
are lessons which we are slow of heart to learn. He 
is daily calling upon us to live for heaven and eternity. 
We hear the call in the workings of inward infirmity 
and disease, and the outward dangers to which our 
life is perpetually exposed. Every tolling knell rings 
it in our ears; it comes up in sepulchral notes from 
the crowded cemetery, and from every solitary grave. 
We live in an aceldama, " amidst sculls and coffins, 
epitaphs and worms." We beiiold the king of terrors 
shaking his fearful sceptre over every human habita- 
tion ; with one hand he seizes upon the hoary locks 
of the veteran, and with the other, snatches the infant 
from its mother's breast, and hurries them both to a 
common tomb. He quenches the lustre of the bright- 
est eye, — blanches the blushing cheek of beauty, and 
tramples in the dust the pride and strength of manhood. 
We see the monarch and the peasant alike bowing to 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 9 

scalding tears which their cruelty and oppression have 
forced from the eyes of the widow and the orphan. 
No requiem is chaunted over their remains, but the 
groans of the hearts their iniquities have saddened. 
The only eulogy their memories receive, is made up 
of the hisses and execrations of posterity. Ah ! who 
would desire the distinction of disgrace — the celebrity 
of infamy — an immortality of contempt ? Alas ! how 
poor a thing is immortality upon earth if it proceed 
not from such a character as will secure immortality 
in heaven ? The name of Voltaire will perhaps be 
remembered in the annals of this world as lonff as 
that of Fcnclon : — but one will be remembered as a 
recreant to virtue, and a blasphemer of God — while 
the other will be venerated as a meek example of 
devotion, and a useful minister of Jesus Christ. The 
name of Arnold will be heard of wherever the fame of 
U'ashingto7i shall extend: but while the one will 
bear the indelible brand of a traitor, the other will be 
lauded as the Father of his country. The literary 
fame of the titled author of Bon Juan mav be lasting- 
as that of the writer of the Task : but while the one 
bears the foul plague spot of impurity which all the 
waters of Castalia's fount can never wash away — the 
other, — moistened with the cleansing dews of Zion — 
shines forth in all the lustrous beauty of purity and 
2 



10 DR. HENSHAW'S SERMON 

truth. When we think of the inglorious fame 
acquired by those who have prostituted the bright 
talents with which heaven endowed them, to the 
infamous service of infidelity and vice, surely every 
one of us will exclaim — " O, my soul, come not thou 
into their council ! unto their assembly, mine honor, 
be not thou united !" 

The great truth we wish to impress upon your 
minds, is, that virtue alone can cmbalin the charac- 
ter with lasting grace: — piety alone is the true 
conservator of fame; and that inmaortality is alone 
worthy of our regard, which extends to both wo7'lcls — 
which insures the applause of earth, and the appro- 
bation of heaven. " The righteous shall be had in 
everlasting remembrance." Their heraldic honors are 
not written in the dust — but inscribed in flaming 
characters upon the sky. Their record is in heaven 
— their memorial with their God. "They that be 
wise shall shine above the brightness of the firma- 
ment; and they that turn many to righteousness as 
the stars forever and ever." 

Would that the regard to the future, which is so 
natural and powerful an incentive to human action, 
might be carried far enough; that it might not be 
confined to the limits of time, but borne forward into 
the vast depths of the unknown future, and extended 
upon the infinite scale of eternity ! 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 15 

the citizens of these United States, in the event which 
occasions our present grief. Never was there a more 
touching illustration of the uncertainty of human 
hopes, and the transitory nature of earthly glory. 
But about seven weeks since, vvliat a splendid pageant 
was exhibited in the capital of this Union ! A scene 
of congratulation, delight and joy. There w^ere proud 
banners floating upon the breeze, accompanied with 
the flourish of trumpets, the roar of artillery, and 
the more deafening shouts of applauding multitudes. 
How sublime the spectacle exhibited, when he, the 
favorite son of the nation — the patriot chief — the ad- 
mired of all admirers — under the broad canopy of 
heaven, lifted his hand to Him who liveth forever and 
ever — the King eternal, immortal and invisible, and 
swore hdelity to the constitution and the laws in the 
execution of the highest earthly trust, committed to 
him by the enlightened suffrages of millions of the 
freeborn ! 

The pomp and splendor connected with the coro- 
nation of an hereditary monarch, is but poor and 
hollow pageantry, compared with the sublime sim- 
plicity of a republican inauguration ! The individual 
thus favored with the confidence of freemen, and thus 
voluntarily chosen to govern those whom he acknow- 
ledges as his equals and fellow citizens, has reached 



16 DR. HENSHAW'S SERMON 

the summit of earthly distinction; his cup of worldly 
honor is full. 

God often teaches his most effective lessons by 
contrast. As the most brilliant productions of the 
pencil depend for their effect upon that which is pro- 
duced by the due admixture of light and shade, so is 
it in the dispensations of Providence. The lesson he 
is now teaching us of the vanity of worldly glory and 
the unsatisfying nature of all earthly distinctions, is 
the more vividly impressed upon our minds, by con- 
trasting it with the joyous scene that had so shortly 
preceded it. One brief month after the inauguration, 
and that honored individual, to whom all eyes had 
been directed as the pride and hope of his country, 
had laid aside his robe of office, and was wrapped in 
his shroud. The eye which had kindled in the ex- 
citement of the battle field, was now lustreless and 
vacant; the ear which had listened to the praises 
of a grateful country, was insensible to human 
applause ; the tongue upon which listening thousands 
had hung with rapture, w^as dumb and silent; and 
the form which had so lately moved with elasticity 
and vigor, was cold and motionless in death. 

The mournful intelligence saddened the joy of our 
Sabbath services ; it flew rapidly, as upon the wings 
of the wind ; and wherever it has gone, it has been 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 13 

his sway ; the palace and the cottage, in their turns, 
shrouded in the sal)le drapery of death. In tliese 
various ways, the voice of our Creator utters its 
salutary warnings ; by these means it is daily whi.s- 
pering in our ears its solemn admonitions. Hearken to 
that voice ! '^ Man that is born of woman, hath but 
a few days to live, and is full of misery ; he cometh 
up and is cut down like a flower ; he fleetli as it were 
a shadow, and never continueth in one stay. In the 
midst of life we are in death." '^ What is your life ? 
It is a vapor, which appeareth for a little while, and 
then vanisheth away. ' •' All flesh is grasSj and all 
the goodliness thereof is as the flower of grass; the 
grass withereth, the flower fadeth, — surely the people 
is grass." 

Ah! how slightly are thoughtless men affected by 
these mementoes of their mortality which God ad- 
dresses to them in the dispensations of his providence 
from day to day? They stop their ears; they put a 
bandage over their eyes; and, bedizened with all 
the trickery of the world, rush on in the bustle of 
business, or plunge into the vortex of pleasure, like 
animals decorated for the sacrifice. 

But sometimes God's providence speaks in such 
unwonted tones as to startle every slumberer, and 
arrest the attention of the most careless. There is, 



14 DR. HENSHAW'S SERMON 

now and then, a stunning power in the stroke of his 
hand, which all must feel. There is a pause in the 
impetuous course of worldly interest and passion, and 
thoughtless obduracy itself is made to experience a 
solemn awe under the manifested frown of Omnipo- 
tence. When the head of a nation is stricken, the shock 
is felt throughout all the limbs and members. When 
the heart is touched with the finger of death, a sen- 
sation of numbness will thrill to the extremities. 
When a whole empire mourns — an entire people is in 
tears — there is a majesty and power in the act which 
occasions it that mocks all human attempts to add to 
its influence. When the voice of Jehovah speaks as 
it has done to us in our late national bereavement, we 
can do nothing to give additional impressiveness to the 
lesson. Art and eloquence can do nothing to deepen 
the feeling of grief or give sharpness to the poignancy 
of public sorrow. The tide of lamentation will flow 
forth deep and strong : all we can do is an humble 
attempt to turn it into a proper channel. When God 
speaks, our duty is to assume the attitude of listeners. 
We must ''be still, and know that he is God;" and 
bow in mute, profound submission to the behests of 
his mysterious, but all wise and merciful providence. 
Surely, never did the Divine voice address itself in 
more affecting accents to a people, than it has done to 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 17 

received with mourn inn; and lamentation and woe. 
Cities, and towns, and villages and liandets through- 
out the wide extent of our country, will emulate each 
other in giving puhlic demonstrations of the universal 
grief. The funeral procession far out-numbered that 
which witnessed the inaugural solemnities; and 
thousands and tens of thousands who did not rejoice 
in his elevation, will sincerely mourn his death. Every 
patriot feels that he has lost a brother; every orphan, 
a father; every widow, a friend. In all our bosoms 
the deep fountains of grief are stirred, when we reflect 
upon the sad truth that the great, the wise, the good 
President is no more! 

" Verily, thou art a God that hidcst thyself, O ! God 
of Israel, the Saviour." "Though clouds and dark- 
ness are round about thee, yet righteousness and 
judgment are the habitation of thy throne." " Thou 
doest all thy pleasure among the armies of heaven 
and the inhabitants of the earth ; and none can stay 
thy hand, or say unto thee, What doest thou?" We 
bow, therefore, to thy judgment, most Holy and True ! 
In the midst of our heavy alllictions — the just chas- 
tisement for our sins — we would rejoice that the Lord 
God Omnipotent reignelh ; and woidd say, with 
meek resignation, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
taken away ; and blessed be the name of the Lord," 
3 



18 DR. HENSHAW'S SERMON 

My friends and brethren, nothing is left to us of our 
departed chief magistrate but the memory of his 
patriotism and his virtues. Let us cherish it as a 
precious legacy left to us and to our children. Let it 
be embalmed in our affections and consecrated by 
our tears. Let the imposing procession and solemn 
ceremonies of to-morrow, as they have proceeded 
from the unsolicited and voluntary movement of the 
citizens of all parties, be considered not as a formal 
compliance with what custom requires, but a warm 
and cordial tribute to departed worth from this whole 
community. May it never be said, to our reproach, 
" the righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart ; 
and merciful men are taken away, none considering 
that the righteous is taken away from the evil to 
come." With its, let "the memory of the just be 
blessed, and the righteous had in everlasting remem- 
brance." 

It, of course, will not be expected that I should 
pronounce a studied eulogy upon the character of the 
eminent citizen whose death we deplore ; or attempt 
to sketch the history of his eventful life. The former 
task is neither suited to my talents nor my profession : 
it belongs rather to the civilian than the divine, and is 
more appropriate to the rostrum than the sacred desk. 
The latter task is unnecessary ; for circumstances have 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 19 

given to his history a wide publicity ; it has been 
recorded in books and pamphlets, written in poetry 
and song, and is " familiar," even to our children, " as 
household words." I shall be, therefore, content with 
adverting to a few facts illustrative of his character 
and life, which show that, as a civilian, a patriot 
soldier, a man, and a Christian, he is entitled to celeb- 
rity, and should be kept in lasting remembrance. 

IHlliam Henry Harrison^ late President of the 
United States, was the son of the nation from his 
birth. Though born too late to bear any part in the 
revolutionary war, he was rocked in the cradle of 
liberty; and his infant mind caught inspiration from 
the songs by which the hearts of our fathers were 
cheered, and their arms nerved for battle, amidst their 
contest for independence. While, from the lips of his 
pious mother, he received those lessons of morality 
and religion which served as a restraint upon his 
passions and a guide for his conduct in the duties of 
private life; his distinguished father (one of the noble 
band who signed the declaration of independence, and 
pledged " their fortunes, their lives, and their sacred 
honor," to maintain it unto death,) imbued his mind 
with those principles of constitutional freedom, and 
that indomitable love of country, which were uni- 



20 DR. HENSHAW'S SERMON 

formly displayed in his long public life devoted to the 
service of the republic. 

After having received his education at one of the 
colleges in his native State, he was, by the sagacious 
Washington, commissioned as Ensign, and selected as 
a trustworthy bearer of the national flag; which, 
though it often w^aved in triumph, was never dishon- 
ored in his hands. 

As the aid of General IVaijne, he performed impor- 
tant services for his country, by contributing, with his 
companions in arms, to restrain the ferocity, and inflict 
exemplary punishment upon the cruelties of a savage 
foe, who " raised the tomahawk, and by their war- 
whoop disturbed the slumbers of the cradle." His 
military career, thus successfully commenced at the 
early age of nineteen, after an interval of many 
years — devoted, in important civil duties, to the im- 
provement and benefit of those frontier settlements 
which had been defended and protected by his prow- 
ess, — was renewed in his mature manhood ; when, as 
a Major General in the army during our late war with 
Great Britain, he contributed by his conquests upon 
the one element, to increase the splendor thrown 
around the standard of our country by the brilliant 
victories which Perry, McDonough, Hull, and other 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 21 

naval heroes had achieved upon the other. His skill 
and fame as a patriot soldier, in connexion with the 
battles of Tippecanoe and the Thames, will be trans- 
mitted by the faithful pen of history to the latest 
generations. 

His services in the cabinet add more lustre to his 
name than his exploits in the field. His policy, as 
Governor of the North Western Territory — the wise 
and liberal measures, adopted and pursued upon his 
recommendation — laid the foundation for the rising 
greatness and unexampled prosperity of those youth- 
ful, giant States, by which it is now covered, and by 
whose hardy and enterprising inhabitants the name of 
their early benefactor is pronounced with enthusiasm, 
and his memory cherished with the most profound 
sentiments of veneration and gratitudo. 

As Indian commissioner, as a member of the Senate 
of Ohio, as a representative successively in both 
houses of the national Congress, and in other offices 
of political trust and honor, he displayed a sagacity 
of mind, an amount of information, and a readiness 
of practical talent adapted to the exigencies of those 
various stations; while in all, he was signalized by a 
purity of principle, a fidelity to the constitution, and 
an incorruptible integrity, which were above reproach, 
and beyond suspicion. 



22 DR. HENSHAW'S SERMON 

This man of well balanced and well furnished 
mind, of a lofty character so well adapted to adorn 
the various stations of civil life, was, by the amiability 
of his temper, the benevolence of his spirit, and all 
the kindly affections which were so sweetly blended 
in his nature, particularly fitted for all the tender 
endearments and sweet intercourse of domestic life. 
In the peaceful quiet, and amid the rural scenes of 
North Bend, in the bosom of his beloved family, 
(now, alas ! so sadly bereaved,) he, doubtless, spent 
the happiest of his days ; and in that loved seclusion, 
he would, like Cincinnatus and Washington, willingly 
have closed his life in the peaceful occupations of 
agriculture, sanctified by works of benevolence and 

piety. 

But far different were the designs of Providence. 
He was called thence by the voice of a grateful 
country, to receive the highest honors which it is in her 
power to confer. I will not set my foot upon the 
burning cinders of party animosity. I will not launch 
my bark upon the troubled waters of political strife. 
No ! I would rather pray for the dews of love to des- 
cend and quench those fires : for the oil of grace to 
smooth the surface of those rufiled waves. I would 
devoutly pray that all those excitements of passion- 
disturbing the elements of social life and weakening 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 23 

the ties of good brotherhood which bind fellow-citi/ens 
together — which were connected with the name of our 
departed President, may be buried with his remains : 
that the blow which has removed him from the scenes 
of earthly strife, may be the death blow of every party 
but that which is made up of the friends of our com- 
mon country ; and that men of all ranks may mingle 
their hearts as w^ell as their tears over his sepulchre. 
I speak not, then, politically but historically, when 
I say, that it was the will of an all- wise Providence, 
that he who had benefited the nation by his signal 
services in life, should not die in retirement, but in the 
capital of the Union; where our chief men might 
behold the peaceful death which was to be the crown- 
ing act of his honorable life, and the entire nation 
might unitedly pour forth their admiration and regret 
at his grave. This illustrious man, who has thus been 
removed in the very Hush of success — when he had 
reached that point where ambition had nothing more 
to covet, and the heart nothing more to desire — was 
the chosen instrument of God to teach this people tw^o 
great moral lessons, more valuable than any others 
which can be drawn from his eventful life. While 
his death, as we have seen, most affectingly teaches 
the vanity of all earthly glory, how emphatically does 
it demonstrate that virtue is the chief element of 



24 DR. HENSHAW'S SERMON 

human greatness ! *' That the memory of the just is 
blessed, and the righteous shall be had in everlasting 
remembrance ! " 

Some of his predecessors in office may have possessed 
higher powers and more brilliant talents in the cabinet : 
others may have acquired greater fame in the field : 
but none, except the fatlier of his country, had taken 
so strong a hold upon the affections of the whole 
people. He is not to be ranked with the Pitts, or the 
Foxes, the Castlereaghs and Cannings of the old 
world ; or with the Jeffersons and Madisons of the 
new. He is not to be classed with the Alexanders 
and CsBsars of ancient, or with the Bonapartes and 
Wellingtons of modern times. But, like Washington 
and LaFayette, he stands out in marked distinction 
from the common rank of statesmen and warriors; 
shining with a peculiar and attractive lustre ; as a 
man not only to be praised, but to be trusted : not 
only to be venerated, but beloved: good, no less than 
great. 

How applicable to the late act of God's providence, 
are the words of the prophet : " Behold the Lord, the 
Lord of Hosts, doth take away— the mighty man, and 
the man of war, the judge, — and the prudent, and the 
ancient — the honorable man, and the counsellor, — and 
the eloquent orator." * But if this were all : if we 

* Isaiah iii. 1,3. 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 25 

could enumerate nothing more than the gifts of nature 
and the fruits of education : if we could speak only of 
the distinctions he had acquired in the cabinet and 
the field ; this sacred desk would be no lit place to 
eulogize his character; for, however bright his earthly 
fame, his name would be forgotten before God. But 
we firmly believe that the Sun of righteousness shed a 
serene and holy light upon the evening of his days : 
that to his hoary head virtue was a crown of glory ; 
and that he was of the number of the righteous who 
ought to be had in everlasting remembrance. 

The religious character of our late beloved Presi- 
dent, would, of course, be likely to be overshadowed 
and obscured by the exciting scenes connected with 
his political and military history. True piety courts 
not the public gaze, and does not ostentatiously 
obtrude itself upon the notice of the world ; but, like 
the sensitive plant, flourishes best in the shade, and 
finds its nutriment in retired and holy communion 
with God. But a few facts which have incidentally 
come to the knowledge of the preacher, have produced 
a conviction in his mind that the late General Harri- 
son was not only a firm believer in the truth of our 
holy religion, but submitted to its restraining power, 
and had a tender sensibility of heart to its hal lowing- 
influence. 
4 



26 DR. HENSHAW'S SERMON 

The venerable Bishop Chase informed me, that, on 
liis first missionary visit to the West, as the pioneer 
of our Church, about twenty-six years ago, General 
Harrison Was one of a few gentlemen who, in a 
private house in Cincinnati, cordially co-operated 
with him in organizing the first Protestant Episcopal 
church in the great valley of the Mississippi. Of that 
church he remained a constant and persevering friend: 
freely contributing of his wealth and personal services 
to the advancement of its prosperity, he was also regu- 
lar and exemplary in his attendance upon its devotions. 

He was not only zealous and exemplary in the 
discharge of his duties as the member of a Christian 
congregation, but he had a sincere and icarni attach- 
mentforthe ministers of Christ — "and esteemed them 
very highly in love for their work's sake." 

In a brief private interview with him, with which 
I was favored on his last visit to this city, he spoke 
with warm afTection not only of his own pastor, but 
of other clergymen whom he numbered among his 
choicest and most intimate friends. He was, manifestly, 
gratified by the reflection that the choice which the 
nation had made of its chief magistrate was so gene- 
rally approved by the divinely appointed guardians of 
its religious faith and practice. Whatever he might 
have thought of the opinion that "government has 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDErJT HARRISON. 27 

nothing to do with religion," — he evidently acted under 
the persuasion that religion ought to have much to do 
with the government — that those who rule men, should 
do it in the fear of God — that "righteousness exalteth 
a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." " My 
good Bls/iop,^^ said he, meaning the Bishop of the 
church in Ohio — " has ivritten mc a letter of excellent 
advice as to my Christian deportment in the high 
station lam called to Jill: I shall often consult it, and 
endeavor faithfully to comj)ly iclth it^ 

When, under the solemnities of his oath of office, he 
stood up, before the assembled people of this great 
republic, to announce the principles which would 
govern him in the administration of public affairs, — 
he did not forget that he was standing also, in the 
presence of a higher Poiccr — even that by which 
" Kings reign, and rulers decree justice :" on that inte- 
resting occasion, he solemnly declared his faith in the 
doctrines of the Christian religion, and the sense of his 
obligation to obey its holy precepts. 

The very next day he repaired to a bookstore to 
purchase a Bible and a Prayer Book ; and at the 
same time he avowed his conviction that the Bible 
should constitute a choice part of the furniture of the 
Presidential mansion. "I intend/said he, '-to buy, 
out of the congressional appropriation, the best copy 



28 DR. HENSHAW'S SERMON 

I can find, and write in it " To the President of the 
United States^ from the 'people of tlie United States P 

Those precious volumes were his daily companions. 
He read a portion of God's word every morning and 
evening; and his well used manual of devotion proved 
that his reading was accompanied with prayer for the 
illumination and blessing of the Most High, And if, 
amidst the cares and duties of his responsible station, 
he daily consulted the sacred volume as his guide in 
duty — and in fervent prayer sought for strength to 
discharge it, — can we doubt that his heart was under 
the dominion of the Holy Spirit, and that he desired 
in all things to glorify God? 

In our reflections upon the religious character of 
our departed President — there is but one thing we 
have to regret: and that too, was, so far as we are 
informed, the only cause of disturbance and regret to 
him in his dying hours. He had not become a com- 
municant of the church. It had, however, long been his 
purpose to do so — but he postponed its execution, till 
the Presidential contest was over, lest the purity of 
his motives might be suspected. That being at an 
end, so far as he was concerned, he avowed his design 
of embracing the first opportunity to unite himself 
with the company of the faithful who partake of the 
spiritual "banquet of that most Heavenly food." 



ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 29 

Alas for us ! in God's wise, but mysterious Provi- 
dence, he was not spared to accomplish his design. 
But may we not hope that, in his case, the will was 
accepted for the deed 7 That he was privileged, spi- 
ritually, and by faith, to feed upon the Lord Jesus 
Christ, in his heart, with thanksgiving — and to enjoy 
" the communion of saints ?"' He hoped on Easter 
Sunday to engage in the highest act of devotion 
known to the church on earth : but before that day, 
sacred to the memory of our Lord's resurrection, had 
dawned, his ransomed spirit was released. He thank- 
ed the Lord, with a loud voice, for his mercies to 
himself: uttered his last wish for his country, and 
peacefully sunk into his everlasting repose. 

May we not indulge the belief that God anticipated 
his wishes, and far exceeded his hopes 7 That in- 
stead of partaking of the consecrated memorials of 
his Redeemer's sacrifice, he was permitted to feed 
upon " the bread of life !" That instead of being 
received into communion with weak and imperfect 
believers on earth, he has been admitted to the 
society of the just made perfect ; the fellowship of 
angels ; the vision of God ! Yes ! we believe he has 
gone to the God whom he served, — the vSaviour in 
whom he trusted. And as we gaze upon his upward 
flight — exclaiming with sadness — "My Father — my 



30 DR. HENSHAW'S SERMON, &C. 

father : the chariots of Israel, and the horsemen there- 
of!" — Our prayer is — may he upon whom the mantle 
of the departed one has descended, be worthy to bear 
it! May his God be the God of our country! May 
w^e all be renewed by the Spirit and cheered by the 
hope of the Gospel ! And as we shall be successively 
gathered to our fathers, may it be truly said over our 
lifeless remains — " The righteous shall be had in ever- 
lasting remembrance." Amen, and Amen ! 



APPENDIX. 



To the facts, illustrative of the religious principles and habits of 
the late President Harrison, given in the foregoing sermon, it may 
be useful to add the following, derived from sources believed to 
be authentic. 

1. His princijjles elevated him above the claims of the san- 
guinary code of honor. "In 1838, in the face of the world, 
he solemnly affirmed that, 'a sense of higher obligations than 
human laws or human opinions can impose, has determined me 
never, on any occasion, to accept a challenge, or seek redress for 
personal injury, by a resort to the laws which compose the code 
of honor.' " 

2. His vieivs of true greatness in the human character, may be 
learned from the language he addressed to Bolivar. "To be 
esteemed eminently great, it is necessary to be eminently' good. 
The qualities of the Hero and the General must be devoted to the 
advantage of mankind, before he will be permitted to assume the 
title of their benefactor." 

3. His respect for the Lord^s day. In August, 1835, having 
been on an electioneering visit to Louisville, he returned home 
on the Sabbath, and the congregations in the villages which lay 
in his I'oute were not a little disturbed by the roar of cannon and 
the general excitement of his partizans. This offence against 
the feelings of the Christian community, was firmly rebuked in 
the Cincinnati Journal. General Harrison soon afterwards called 
upon the editor, and requested him to state — "that he deeply 
regretted that circumstances beyond his control compelled his 



32 APPENDIX. 

return on the Lord's day, and gave occasion to other things 
equally painful. He also declared his very great veneration for 
the Sabbath, and the conviction that few had done more than 
himself, to uphold it in its beneficial influence on the community." 

"Of late years, he always avoided travelling on the holy day, 
unless from absolute necessity; and during the short period he 
occupied the President's mansion, carefully avoided all company 
on that day, and dined at an early hour, that he might attend 
public worship in the afternoon with his family, some of whom 
belonged to the communion of the Presbyterian church." 

The Rev. William Hawley, from whose narrative of the late 
President's life in Washington, the fact last quoted is derived, 
relates the following interesting incident: "I am authorised from 
unquestionable authority to say, that, the closing part of the 
inaugural address, especially that part in which he so revei-ently 
expresses his regard for the Christian religion, was penned by 
him in the room in which he was born, and where he had often 
kneeled beside his pious mother, who earnestly supplicated the 
rich blessing of heaven on his future life." 

The increase of immorality and vice — the untiring efforts of 
infidels and the enemies of religion to force us into the attitude 
of an atheistic people, denying God's authority, and refusing to 
acknowledge or implore his protection — may sometimes alarm 
the Christian patriot, and lead him to tremble for his country. 
But as God, of liis great mercy, has given us one President, who 
loved his Bible, reverenced the Sabbath, and, on his bended 
knees, in the sanctuary and the closet, implored the blessings 
which he needed through the merits of the only Saviour — and as 
his successor in that high office, has called upon us as a Christian 
nation to humble ourselves before the Most High — acknowledg;- 
ing our sins and seeking his mercy in fasting and prayer : — while 
we find the character of the one so highly venerated, and the 
recommendation of the other so warmly approved, by the great 
body of the people, — we will not despair of the Republic. 



S9 w 



■I 



D. BRUNKTER, 

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PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL BOOK DEPOSITORY, 

J\^o, 1 JYorth Chfirles street^ 

BALTIMORE, 
HAS FOB SALE THE FOLLOWING WORKS, 

BY THE AUTHOR OF THIS SERMON: 

THEOLOGY FOR THE PEOPLE, 

IN A SERIES OF DISCOURSES 

ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE CHURCH CATECHISM. 



COMMUNICANT'S GUIDE. 



INSTRUCTIONS ON CONFIRMATION. 



8HERII>AIV?S EL.OCUTIOr¥. 

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A SELECTION OF HYMNS 



D. B. keeps also a full supply of the most approved Theologi- 
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